Tips & advice please!

[jinks]

Hi everyone.I need some advice and help. My girlfriends father is retiring in november and they're throwing a party for him so i came up with the idea of a surprise DVD to play during the party with his workmates, friiends and family. The catch is I have no idea as to what a retirement dvd should be like.My idea was to do a ton of interviews with his workmates and freinds, but I think it would be boring to just have interviews alone. What else can I cover and could you please give me some guideline as to what to ask in the interviews? I am a one man crew so I will cut out my questions and leave in the answers which is why I need some tips on how to structure the interview so the story is continous. Any help offered is highly appreciated as this might get in the old man's good books :-Laugh(DBG):.

 

[Jeff Anderson]

I just did a similiar anniversary video for my aunt and uncle's 30th. I interviewed their two daughters mainly and had them retell the story of how they met, etc, favorite memories, and just kind of went with the flow question wise. I had a few thought up but most stemmed from their answers. I developed the flow of the final piece in post as I didnt know what the answers were going to be. Mixed in some music and old pictures along with "special wishes" from other relatives and called it a day. If you are going to loop this during the whole party I would stick with more pics than interviews so it can be something that isnt too distracting but amusing to watch for a few moments. Or maybe do both where you have 15 minutes of real video that he might want to watch again and that you have people sit down and watch along with a looping picture show for during the party for people to see as they mingle about.

 

[jinks]

Thanks Jeff, I really appreciate your advice. I had also thought about old photos especially when his kids are talking about their fond memories of him and his work. I will probably just limit interviews to 3 mins max per person since they're going to be several.
Keep the tips coming, they help a lot!!